THE season has just ended and Jamie Carragher is played his final game for Liverpool FC – befittingly as captain, at Anfield.
Ever since I heard about his decision to retire after this season I had fantasised about him scoring the injury-time winner in front of The Kop; the goal that squeezes us past Arsenal to clinch fourth spot and Champions League qualification next season.
But instead of just focusing on what we have got here and now and one last time, I can’t seem to stop obsessing about replacements and reinforcements. The last week or so I have spent a disturbingly high amount of hours reading up on transfer speculation and contemplating what LFC’s squad will look like next season. And it’s not even June…
One thing I often think about is the average age of our squad and the need for ‘instant success’ type of signings versus building a squad with half an eye on the next two or three years.
Let us play around with a small experiment; a not so unlikely scenario: Martin Skrtel and Stewart Downing both leave this coming transfer window. Looking through Liverpool’s current squad we will then be left with the following players at the age of 26 or older when the season kicks off:
Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique, Lucas Leiva, Luis Suarez and Brad Jones. Only three of them will be 30 or older: Gerrard, Reina and Jones – meaning we will have one single outfield player that can be considered a veteran. The rest are players considered to be in their prime or soon approaching it.
Looking at the players we have been linked to the last few weeks the trend seems to continue; with the exception of Ashley Williams and a couple of others, just about everyone seem to be 26 or younger.
Some of this can be attributed to FSG’s and Brendan Rodgers’ modus operandi of signing young players, which naturally affects the media and their speculation; but even the ones that seem to have a bit of substance (Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Tiago Ilori) are players who have barely hit their 20s, and far from the experienced heads some probably will look for when replacing a leader like Jamie Carragher.
Now, there are more than one way of interpreting this. We can talk about skimping on wages and not putting enough money into the transfer kitty, and thus setting us up for sustained mediocrity. Some will say we need to splash £60-70m on three or four established and experienced quality players this summer to make a serious push for a Champions League spot, and that not doing so will be inexcusable and showing a level of ambition not befitting the club.
There are reasons to agree with that: Chelsea, Everton and both Manchester clubs will start the season with a new manager, meaning Liverpool will for once have a slight theoretical advantage in terms of stability and therefore should act promptly while we have a chance of closing the gap to the top while leaving Everton firmly behind us.
The other way of looking at it is that FSG and Brendan Rodgers actually are here for the long haul and are sticking to the plan of rebuilding brick by brick, and therefore will continue with the policy of buying young players – as well as integrating youngsters from the academy – with the aim of creating a squad that will be ready to unleash its potential in a year or two, and not be in need of another rebuild in five years.
FSG and Ian Ayre have spent the last year or so adjusting the wage bill in order to move towards making the club self-sustained, and the natural consequence of this adjusted wage structure is that despite the increased revenue and the new television deal Liverpool FC probably won’t be in a position to fight for the likes of Mats Hummels or Edinson Cavani, but instead will need to continue the trend of going for the second tier players; the ones who are slightly forgotten, up and coming or don’t fit in at their current clubs.
For those reasons it’s natural to assume that most of our signings will continue to be in the 20-24 age group; players who can be part of the (hopefully) continued building process and also be here when everything hopefully comes to fruition.
We all know Alan Hansen’s famous quote about not winning anything with ‘kids’. Liverpool may not win anything next season, or even the season after for that matter; but whatever one thinks about FSG and Brendan Rodgers, one can’t deny it looks like they are determined to lay down the foundations for an exciting future for the club.
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gud article ynwa!! In br we trust
Well spoken.
Carra will be a huge loss , and sadly I can’t see us challenging top 4 next season unless big money is spent , and we all know that won’t happen
Our attacking group is good and has lots of goals in them, we just need to strenghten in defence and we can achive top 4 next season.
A player like alonso would be perfect as he can tackle and distribute quickly, he would also keep those around him calm with his pressence on the ball. Not sure if we will get him though, wayanwa looks strong, errikson is class, i would like to see texerra given a chance in the cups as he looks good. I’m just looking forward to next season now as i think we will surprise a lot of people.
i personally wouldnt go for alonso, we have gerrard for that position and if i had an option of steve or xabi it would be steve all day long plus think xabi does not have the energy for the engine room in the prem any more.
Start from being 12 points behind fourth place. That’s winning 4 games more than this next season or more realistically 2 wins and 6 draws. That’s assuming others don’t improve also.
Yes the attack looks to have potential with the youngsters coming through but need to build the understanding between LS and the two January recruits which will not be helped by the LS suspension. BR needs to blood more of the up and coming youngsters and integrate them as full squad members able to take over without losing momentum. Goals this season have been against the lesser mortals so we need both consistency and a better conversion rate. That means a lot of work pre season and on the training ground if we are to hit the ground running which we’ll need to do to get anywhere. We can’t afford to drop early points , especially against the minnows, if we want to be in contention. All great past teams have been built from the defence – winning your home games and not losing your away ones is a good receipt for success. So what do we need and can it be financed?
First a proven goal scorer in a different mould so as to complement what we have. Man city seem to have some spares – one beginning with D would not go amiss but ideally a big fellow like AC but with speed and better ball control, perhaps even the return of a cut price chap from Chelsea now that he seems to be getting his act together again, after all that was the original master plan. Second a subtle playmaker schemer to back up the little Brazilian. Third a rebuilt defence, which will need time to become watertight. Even allowing for the hopeful transition of the young tyros into the first team squad a decent dose of experience is necessary, which we’ll have to bring in and then settle in.
Spelt out like this shows the extent of the remaining team building issues and the potential costs involved. Above all its better to buy a few quality on the way up players than to dissipate cash by spraying it around on journeymen. Realistically we will be lucky to get top four next season, so anyone brought in has to be distinctly better than those on the books already will be by 2014-5 when the real challenge should materialise. Don’t buy for the sake of buying and do so only when confident in the quality as able to function at the level which regrettably we are having to simply aspire to at the present time.
Reports of myriad speculated transfers already run to a Russian oligarch or two. Its not going to happen. There is a sensible strategy in place. The last part of the season has seen some of it gelling. So next season should be the prelude to getting back on our rightful perch.
He should never have been appointed, he’s done his learning at our expense, and for me too many doubts remain about him in pretty much every area of what a manager does.
He’s had all the upside and the club has had all the downside, althogugh for the owners he’s a safe bet, because if he did turn us into a top 4 side they’d be quids in, and if doesn’t they have a manager content to be their mid table feeder club lapdog.
What do we need to compete for 4th?
We need to massively improve the midfield, with a top class holding player, a better creative player than Allen as back up to Gerrard, and a couple of quality wide men.
We also need to tweak defence, a department that has been exposed by Rodgers’ system, by buying a top class continental centre half and not blowing half the budget on Williams.
Oh and we need Rodgers to vary his playing system, make better team selections and substitutions, and better manage certain players.
Pretty much everything, and thus the club would still be better removing him and bringing back Rafa.
Well said mate, bring Rafa back! If Rafa could such a decent job with fans against him at Chelsea, he’ll do miracles at LFC with the ways most of us REAL fans love him….
Spot on kk . Rafa should be no 1 priority , but with these clueless owners prob won’t be
New manager in …. or it will be more of the same mediocrity next season
If you look at Fergies success at united over the years you can count the true superstars on one hand. The players that carried him to success were all average players playing to their maximum potential(which can only be proven by their decline once they left, apart from forlan & ronaldo). Stars can always be replaced but what is required is a strong group of players who know the way the manager wants to play, who have heart and have a high workrate. Who know their place in the team is not guaranteed, and that they gotta play their socks off week in and week out. That is what sets a dynasty apart from a chelsea or man city who buy immediate success, but have to overhaul the squad every few years because the team is too old…. If you want long term domination, you need that squad of workers. Liverpool do not require big spending… They just need a squad of young passionate hard working just above average players, a good defence, and 1 or 2 superstars. We’re not too far off. With carra, reina, gerrard and downing being the high wage earners, plenty would be soon freed up to throw into the transfer kitty…. Its all unfolding very nicely…
The Pirate…
I would like to personally thank Carragher for his contribution to LFC and being one of the Icons of LFC. I wish him All the best with the rest of his life.
I would like to see the back of Brendon Rodgers for giving us such head ache and heart ache through the season and getting us no trophies or any European club competition for the next year. We need a better manager and a better team, especially the bench strength.
Brendon Rodgers is going to bring in more of his pets and his useless dossier and if he continues next year, I am 100% sure we will have the same of this year next year. Many may agree with me or may not, but to believe that LFC has improved under BR is a myth and I want you to watch all the games that we lost. I keep the faith in LFC. I am not walking away. YNWA
Well spoken but remember AVB arrived TFC nd its been a hell of a club, if LFC don’t spend big we ll still finish in this same position next season, dos americas aint businessmen cus real businessmen knows there is both profit nd losses in an organization.. And LFC is more than a club for such a poor shows in recent years… Money brings success, we can’t challenge likes of chelsea, manchester clubs and even arsene wenger is now waking up from his long slumber by trying to spend big, totenham also ll follow suit by offering Bale a big contract, but LFC highest paid is SG wit arund £130K per week nd FSG is raising hell of talks that dat amount is big, common kops we can’t get better with americans.
Uve got my support in a billion ways…
The same pea brains still going on about lfc not making progress. It’s become music to my ears because with all the utter disrespect they show out manager and players they deserve their misery. Us Liverpool supporters will enjoy the budding success and you sad lot will continue to yell “get off my lawn”. *.
Brendan is doing great and I look forward to many years under his leadership.
Ha ha ha . Enjoy the success ???! Get back on the medication and join the real world
supporters will always support, and haters always hate. coutinho and sturridge turned out well, but no, BR is still not good enough. wake up and smell the coffee, we are not in a position to challenge financially, so the alternative is to build brick by brick. but some people are just so thick they can’t see that. forever bleating about buying this player and that player and sacking BR and replacing him with whoever. this is getting old.
1 win against a top 6 team all season , embarrassing cup exits and a generally awful season that was over as far back as the end of february
Don’t let a few easy end of the season meaningless matches disguise a petty poor performance
Coutinho has given everyone cause for optimism and he truly does look top top drawer , but unless Rodgers can find 2 or 3 more of coutinhos quality , and not rubbish like Allen or Borini , then we will struggle again next season
If FSG won’t spend big money to compete with the rich boys then that is all the more reason to ditch Rodgers in favor of a better manager . Rodgers has shown he can not keep up tactically with other top managers.
Why should Liverpool wait for this guy to learn his trade ? He has shown little to suggest he will ever be good enough
Kav
“Rodgers has shown he can not keep up tactically with other top managers”
With other top managers means he himself is a top manager.
Which I believe.
So you know a lot about football do ye.
Can you give us a few indepth examples of where Rodgers was out classed tactically by other top managers will ye.
Subs. Formations. And all the other stuff us fan don’t know about in football like the tactics that you obviously know all about.
The part where the game is really won and lost.
Look forward to this joke of a reply of yours.
Ps maybe you could bring Steve g. Terry mac. And a few more of those clowns in on this as well to add to the comic factor.
Thanks
Your the joke mate . I’ve seen your braindead posts before .
Your simply a Rodgers apologizer who sees things through red tinted glasses.
Again I have been proved wrong. Thanks for the insiteful and indepth look at how Rodgers was out done by his opponents. Maybe the comic genious that is David Tobin can throw some more knowledge our way on top or your post.
Thanks for showing us all you know about the game
What a little troll you are kumber . You make absolutely no sense at all
It sums up the quality of Liverpool when i vote Carragher as MOM. We certainly have some mediocre players none more so than Lucas. Who if he is Brazilian so am i.He was garbage,Henderson was not much better , followed Borini .
The one real positive was Ibe, I suppose conman Rodgers will take the praise for playing him instead of the useless Shelvey. But why o why did he not give both Coady & Wisdom 30 mins each instead of Lucas & Henderson. If we still have Lucas, Allen.Borini, Assaidi, & Shelvey in the squad next we will not even get 7th place
Can’t win with Americans?
Manchester United would beg to differ. The Glazers have allowed them to stay at the to of the PL for as long as they’ve been there.
Why do people hate on the nationality? It’s got nothing to do with it. It’s the investment, and dedication that owners provide their clubs with, that makes all the difference.
Once the results on the pitch come good, Henry and Co. Will invest further. After KK spending their money like a drunken sailor, it’s hard to blame them for being cautious. Once bitten, twice shy, no?
I’m not sure what to make of this year. I’m a new fan, and don’t have a long history supporting the club, but there were some positives, and some issues that I think were beyond obvious. At the end of the day, there must be accountability, and it starts at the top. I’m not for firing Rogers yet, as I want to see if a step forward is taken next season.
I wanted European competition as much as anyone, but I guess if there’s one positive in missing, it’s a full focus on the PL season, and less chance of injury or fatigue to hamper our efforts in the league.
This window is critical, and in the end, could make or break Brenden’s tenure here.
Nobody should be satisfied with 7th place. Nobody likes being on the outside looking in. But there are some reasons to be optomistic, and we’ll have to see what happens in the window, and see if this club can rise to the challenge before them next year.
A good start is the key, as early points will give us momentum, and have us brimming with confidence, where the return of Suarez can push us into the coveted top 4.
the way forward ? new manager would be a start . but … if rodgers stays then he must stay away from his average ex-players and find some proper talent
also he needs to dump his pets allen and borini .. as well as clearing out the deadwood that is downing assaidi and maybe even lucas
The way forward for #LFC http://live4liverpool.com/2013/05/view-from-the-kop/the-way-forward-next-season-and-beyond
I can’t understand why Henry & co would continue with Brenda when there are many better managers out there .
how come nobody is tinking of signing diame nd a good keeper to challenge nd rest reina? Hope u aint carried away by d strong finish smoke screen? YNWA